1. This invention is directed to an inverted conveyor system and in particular to an improved system incorporating a toothed vacuum belt for effecting the pneumatic transfer of articles while suspended from the lower side of the conveyor as opposed to lying on top.
2. The use of pneumatic transfer with conveyor systems is well known and widely practiced both in regard to belt conveyors and agricultural purposes such as blowing or sucking grain, fertilizers, etc. along pipes. In the case of belt conveyors with pneumatic transfer, many systems are characterized by the use of wide open suction chambers with associated unduly large air-mass displacement requirements in the form of generated vacuum or of compressed air. The response time of such systems is unduly slow while the necessary air displacement is large and noisy with excessive forces being generated against system components including the associated frictional drag upon the belt with consequent increased wear. Huge amounts of power may be consumed generating very high volumes of noise.
All this is exacerbated when a conveyor is inverted to attempt running upside down as gravity works on both the belt and suspended articles to pull them away from the conveyor thereby breaking the vacuum seal. Thus more energy needs be consumed to create a stronger vacuum or a wider and shorter conveyor used, all of which are totally unsatisfactory in many situations.
It should be noted that the size of a conveyor system per se, both in height and width, can bear significant economic implications, with down-sizing being the most desirable while maintaining the required length for the application at hand. This has particular bearing on the size and location of the necessary ancillary systems associated with the conveyor.
My earlier systems, as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,565 of Nov. 19, 2002 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,309 of Feb. 28, 2006, while overcoming many of the defects of prior art, has been significantly improved upon by way of the changes as set forth below to allow articles to be transferred effectively and efficiently by and inverted vacuum conveyor and suspending the load below.